Fentanyl: Chemical | Organic composition

Last modified: Sunday, 31. May 2009 - 3:29 pm

Fentanyl is a completely synthetic molecule. Its actual chemical name is N-(l-phenethyl-4-piperidyl) propionanilide. Most of the derivatives of fentanyl are more powerful than the molecule itself. To date there have been dozens of fentanyl derivatives designed. Today, any derivative of fentanyl is commonly referred to as fentanyl, though each is given its own chemical name. For example, the drug that was sold under the name of China white in the 1980s was given the name alpha-methylfentanyl. Other common medical derivatives are fenzylfentanyl, fluorofentanyl, thiofentanyl, carfentanil, and sufentanil. Because fentanyl is so much more potent than heroin or other opioids, it must be diluted before it can be consumed. Clandestine chemists often use powdered sugar, baby powder, baby laxative, or antihistamines to dilute the street drug. Because the designer drugs can contain a variety of different diluting materials and are many times more powerful, these drugs are more dangerous than legally produced opioids.